


The Conference

by XWingKC



Series: Sam and Jack Shorts [1]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Business Trip, F/M, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XWingKC/pseuds/XWingKC
Summary: A stand alone short story. Sam has to go to DC less than a year after Jack was reassigned there. Both of them are hoping they still have a chance with each other.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Sam and Jack Shorts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677553
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72





	The Conference

It was less than a year after Jack had been in DC. He adjusted well to the new job, and was liking some of the perks that came with the job. He couldn’t complain. He had no real love for DC, and could not wait to retire and get back to Colorado Springs and his home he left behind there. He was still in touch with his old SG-1 team. All except one of them. And it was that one who would be arriving in DC to speak at the conference on Astrophysics in just a few days.

He wasn’t going to go to the conference other than to see her. Maybe he would ask her out to dinner, finally. Or maybe just coffee. Something informal might be better. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to her when he left. She was off-world with the new SG team. Maybe he would also ask her to the Pentagon to do a debrief on everything so far since he’s been gone. No. That can’t work. Too obvious? 

She left in one day for DC to speak at the conference on Astrophysics. She wondered if she should contact him to let him know she was coming. Heck, she was certain the guys already told him. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much when they filled him in on her. She was still single and not seeing anyone. And the guys may have mentioned to her that he also was not seeing anyone. Him knowing about her should not twist her up like that. Maybe she’d just drop by his office if she had time. 

She regretted not being able to say goodbye. It hurt her to have him leave with so much left unsaid between them. Why did she not say anything? She regretted that day with Freya and the za'tarc test when she told Jack that nothing had to leave the room that day. She struggled with her feelings for him ever since. It was so complicated with him being her boss. She loved her job. But she loved him. Neither one was willing to talk about it in fear of ruining careers. Or was it fear of the love itself? She may never know. He was the one constant in her life for 8 years. Now he was gone, and it was not the same.

She sat in the front row of the conference. She was speaking on the first and last day. She did not have to wear her Air Force uniform for this. She had on a simple black skirt suit with a red sleeveless shell. She had on black heels. She got up to give her presentation. The lights were bright in her face, and she could not see the people in the room. The room was full, which surprised her. There must be a lot of astronomy and astrophysics fans in the DC area. After her hour presentation, she returned to her seat until they called a break.

She really needed this break. She went straight for the ladies room. When she came out, she headed towards the beverage table. As she grabbed her drink, she felt and smelled a very familiar scent behind her. Not quite willing to believe her own senses, she continued to pour her drink until she heard a voice behind her.

“Hey, stranger,” he said, rather close to her.

She turned around and there he was. She smiled up at him, and immediately put her drink down.

“Sir! Wow, um, hello, what are you doing here?” she asked, very surprised. He was in his dress blues. How many times over the years had she imagined taking that uniform off of him…then she registered he was speaking to her. 

“...so, then I had to come down because I heard there was going to be a brilliant Astrophysicist speaking today, so I figured I should come and listen to her speak,” he rambled on. His nerves were starting to show.

She smiled at him and said, “Daniel and Murray told you I was going to be here, didn’t they?” 

“OK, I’m busted. Yes, they sure did,” he smirked back at her. That smirk that made her insides turn to jelly. She bit her lower lip and crossed her arms across her body. She shifted her eyes at her body’s reaction to him. 

“Well, what did you think?” she asked him, with a glow in her eyes.

“Honestly, Carter, I wasn’t really paying attention to what you were saying,” he replied, capturing her eyes as he used to do all the time. 

She fidgeted and just stared back at him. She didn’t know what to say. He was right in front of her, and she was speechless. _‘I’m going to blow this again,’_ she thought.

She was right in front of him. His Carter. After all these years, they could finally be together if they wanted. It was now or never, he thought. He wasn’t going to let this chance go again. 

“Carter, would you like to have dinner with me one night while you are in town?” he asked. 

She stared at him like a deer in headlights. After all this time, he finally asked her out. Her mind was racing, her body warming at the question. She was taking too long to answer him.

“Carter, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, if you’d rather not, I understand. I will leave you to it,” he said, and dropped his head for a moment. 

“Yes,” she replied. “Yes, I will go to dinner with you.” She felt sweet relief consume her. She saw him lift his head back to hers, and they locked eyes. She was smiling bigger than he had seen in ages. That smile made his world go around. 

“When?” she asked.

“When you have the time. You let me know. I will be available. Just beware if it is tonight, I won’t have time to go home and change. This is what you get,” he said with a very seductive look on his face. 

She knew that look. That look that said he has something else on his mind except dinner. She wanted to be out with him in that uniform. 

“Tonight is fine,” she said, probably faster than she wanted it to come out. She thought she may sound needy. He made a gruff laughing noise at her reaction. _‘Yup, crap. That came out needy,’_ she thought to herself. 

“We are done at 1600, sir. I will need to run back to my room before we leave. I am staying at this hotel. I can meet you down in the lobby whenever you are able to go,” she said.

“First things first. Lose the ‘sir’ tonight. Call me Jack.”

A warmth flooded her core when he said that. He has never asked her to call him Jack. She couldn’t believe after all these months that this man could still excite her like he is. She gave him a nervous smile.

“OK, then, _Jack_. I am done at 1600.”

He smiled at her. He loved her awkward reactions to him. He thought that maybe she still cared for him, at least a little. Maybe they could make this work. Maybe he had not lost his chance with her.

“Then how about 1700? I will come get you. If we need to, I can have my driver take us somewhere, or we can find something within walking distance. There is no shortage of places to eat in DC.” 

“Yes, s...Jack. Yes, Jack. I will be ready. I’ll meet you down in the lobby,” she smiled up at him, some of her nerves subsiding. _‘Did he just say he had a driver?’_ she asked herself. 

“Then good bye for now. I will be back in a few hours,” he said with his dark eyes seeming to get even darker as he looked at her.

There was no way she could concentrate on the afternoon presentations. Her mind wandered to him with every breath she took. Maybe they still had a chance? She regretted so much with him. So many stolen chances pushed away by her, because she didn’t want to ruin either career. She often wondered what it would have been like if she had just told him. What if she had let it out of the room that day? Would he have retired? She never even gave him the chance to decide. But now is different. Now maybe they could start again.

She spent the afternoon in her room going over everything in her head. She took a long, hot shower, then got ready for dinner. She only had suits with her, so she changed out the shell she was wearing with another color, and put the suit back on. 

At 4 o’clock there was a knock on her door. She hadn’t ordered room service. She looked through the eye hole and it was a hotel staff member. She opened the door to find a dozen red roses being handed to her.

“For you, ma’am,” he said, and left the roses with Sam. Sam brought the roses inside and put them on the table. There was a card attached. It read, 

‘ _I should have done this years ago - J_ ’ 

Heat flooded her again. He did still care for her. She put her nose to one of the roses and inhaled. Her mind wandered to him, and his scent she smelled earlier today. Fifteen minutes later there was another knock on the door. She figured it was another delivery so she opened the door. She gasped out loud when she saw the tall figure standing before her in AIr Force dress blues.

He knew he should not go to her room. There was the chance she would kick him out, and ruin any chance he had with dinner, let alone anything else. He was hoping the roses would make it OK. He was already taking chances on her, he figured he would try to let her know he was serious. He held his breath and knocked on her door.

He thought she looked amazing in suits. The look of surprise on her face will be etched in his mind forever. She made him speechless in that moment. They locked eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest. He heard her loud gasp when she opened the door. She stood there silent, just looking at him. 

Should she let him in? Should she walk out with him? She couldn’t breathe, let alone talk. His smell entered the room, and she lost all capability to think. His eyes bored holes into her heart. Her heart raced, her breathing increased. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. All she could do is open the door a little wider, and motion for him to come in.

He took his hat and put it on the table next to the roses. The next thing she knew, she was up in front of his chest, her fingers running over his buttons and medals. He put his hands on her shoulders, and ran his hands down her arms, then up again until he cupped her head in his hands. He brought her eyes to his. She was trembling at his touch. She looked at his lips.

“Jack….” she said. Then he moved in closer to her face. She could feel his breath on her lips. So close to hers. She could smell him. She could feel him. Never before had she been able to be this close to him in such an intimate setting.

She smelled wonderful. Better than he remembered. He took her face in his hands and wanted to cancel dinner plans. But he didn’t want to push this farther than she was ready. 

“Are you ready to go to dinner?” he whispered.

She looked at him with eyes that screamed no. She did not want to go to dinner. All she had to do was say no.

She wrapped her arms around his back and drew him in close. She stood up on her toes just a little bit to close the gap between their lips. She gently kissed him. She finally kissed him. She stood back down and looked at him. His eyes were dark, and they were now communicating between one another as they had for years. A silent way to let each other know what they were thinking and feeling. After all this time, they still had that between them.

She reached down and unbuttoned the one button on her jacket. Still looking at him, she took the jacket off and put it over a chair in the room. He caressed her bare arms as he continued to look at her. She took his hand, and led him to the bedroom of her suite.

“I should have done this years ago,” she repeated the statement on the card in the roses.


End file.
